Dear Pulpwood Queens and Timber Guy Book Club members, our Authors, and book lovers everywhere!
Madeleine Alexandrite Patrick and her momster, Kathy L. Murphy!
Favorite photo of the weekend, Author, John Warley as in “Butterflies are Free”!
The #1 Highlight of Girlfriend Weekend was after tallying the Author Silent Auction items we raised $2,140.00 with ALL proceeds to go to The Pat Conroy Literary Center. A big shout to Author, John Warley, a personal friend of Pat Conroy for the amazing opening of our Author Dinner on why we need to support this amazing not-for-profit. And a reminder, The Pulpwood Queens and Timber Guys Book Clubs sole mission is to promote and support our authors, their books, literacy, and READING! We will continue as always throughout the year to support this amazing endeavor.
#2 Girlfriend Weekend is all about COMMUNITY and SHARING OUR STORIES! This year’s favorite story for me was from Author, Caitlin Hamilton Summie who told on her panel that one of her first jobs was wearing a hard-shelled Coffee Bean costume at a convention. Hey, college students need jobs but her words,, not mine, as follows: In graduate school, I dressed up as a coffee bean. I needed gas money, and a coffee convention coming to Denver needed helpers. So I was hired and selected to be The Bean. The costume was a hard plastic, not one of those soft squishy ones mascots get to wear, and it didn’t fit right, so my arms stuck out a bit. Being the Bean was not easy. I learned humility. I had to ignore the whispered comments as people passed by, such as “I hate that bean.” But at the end of the very long day, an older gentleman–a man who had weathered many a coffee conference–came up to me and said, “You are my favorite Bean.” And so I also learned a lesson in small kindnesses.
Authors, Deborah Rodriguez and Caitlin Hamilton Summie serve our book club attendees at Author Dinner!#3 The authors so willingly dressing up as HIPPIES and waiting the tables at our Author Dinner. I was consumed with sorrow and joy as Author, John Warley spoke of Pat Conroy and his Pat Conroy Literary Center. Again the relationships of authors to authors, authors and book club members, and for me, the best friends in all my life, truly. But New York Times Bestselling Authors, M.J. Rose and Randy Susan Meyers brought the house down with their interviewing each other and their incredible friendship with each other. I loved this night so much as we all came together to share a meal and share each others lives. THAT is what makes my book club festival different than any other. We all participate in everything together, authors and book club members no matter how famous.
Author, John Warley speaks on his friend Pat Conroy and The Pat Conroy Literary Center
Authors, M. J. Rose and Randy Susan Meyers Keynote at Girlfriend Weekend 2018 Author Dinner!
#4 I think it is pretty important to know that at Girlfriend Weekend, you have the opportunity to hear ALL the authors speak, ALL of them. I travel the country doing book festivals and I am lucky if I get to hear two or more. The logistics of traversing capital grounds and convention centers where everything is so spread out! We again are ALL in this together. I can think of no other event where all the attendees get to the hear all the authors and all the authors get this big of audience every time they speak.
All you 2019 Girlfriend Weekend Authors dressed as HIPPIES to wait the tables at Author Dinner!
#5 Lt. Colonel Mark E. Green and Echo Garrett. This all took me by big surprise as I knew he had a story but for all of you there, you know this was a life changing experience. Thank you too to his adorable son and video presentation. I have watched it over and over and who says millenials do not understand the importance of reading! I also thank Mark for the wonderful 100 year old artifact from Afghanistan with scroll and to Pulpwood Queen Betty Koval for presenting me with Mark Green’s Black Belt that she purchased in the Silent Auction, wow, oh, wow!
Lt. Colonel Mark E. Green rocking the Author Dinner!
#6 Author/Actor/Comedian, Lorna Lankvik who just blew me away with her totally improvisation performance at our Great Big Ball of Hair Ball. Now on my Bucket List to go see her perform in Minneapolis, Minnesota for sure. And a big thanks to Kiffer Brown and Diane for their rendition of Garth and Wayne of Wayne’s World leading us in the singing of Bohemian Rhapsody, killer moments! Favorite photo of that night is of John Warley embracing our Bohemian moments. Also to Helaina and Toby Wilkerson and Millenial tribe and above for some pretty incredible dance moves. You all bring such joy and LIFE to Girlfriend Weekend.
Author, Lorna Landvik serving at the Author Dinner to all the book club attendees!
#7 Hanging out with the authors and the Pulpwood Queens and Timber Guys who I sometimes ONLY see this one time a year. Had some great conversations and truly this is the event I live for each year. Girlfriend Weekend is my one opportunity to have some really BIG TIME FUN!
#8 Thank you all for all the presents, so many from a Mexican tiara from Deborah Rodriquez, to a ring made from a piece of tin created by Sara Dahmen’s son, to the silver backpack of goodies from author, Susan Orsoni, to the ornament made by Christa Allan’s daughter, so many gifts but even more important, YOUR PRESENCE! What makes Girlfriend Weekend is ALL OF YOU BEING PRESENT so this year, let’s get everybody to come. This is a pretty swanky venue, The Fredonia, so it’s takes a bigger audience to make it pay for itself for me. Won’t you bring the rest of your chapters, invite a NEW friend to come and join and share, Share, SHARE the joy and love of this human connection of sharing our stories!
#9 The winners of all the events this year. You have to admit Bren McClain, Lisa Wingate, Melissa Conroy, The BB Pulpwood Queens of Jackson, Mississippi who have been coming for 15 or our 18 years, Tiajuana Anderson Neel but the fact of the matter is we are ALL WINNERS for coming to this event.
Pulpwood Queen Tiajuana Anderson Neel gets standing ovation for receiving The Doug Marlette Award for the idividual who has spent a lifetime promoting literacy!#10 And last but most important, my book family, Helaina Wilkerson, Madeleine Alexandrite Patrick, Hayley Moore, Tiajuana Anderson Neel, Karen and crew of Stephen F. Austin State University and Alex Jenkins of Texas A & M University in Commerce, Texas. I love you and thank you for working so hard on this event. A big shout out to Mayor Shelley Brophy, Joanna Temple and all the wonderful staff of the Nacogdoches Convention and Tourism Center, Ryan Russell and staff of The Fredonia Hotel and Convention Center, Tim covering for The Daily Sentinel and all who shared our story of the love of authors, books, literacy, and reading. This is the party I plan that I most want to go to but no party ever beyond our imaginations if it not were not for ALL OF YOU! God Bless, now let’s get those tickets and packages for Girlfriend Weekend 2019, themed HOW THE WEST WAS WON because this year, I believe we will fill ALL the rooms at The Fredonia and pack their convention center. Don’t delay, I already have 20 authors booked for this event and you will not believe who is coming! Stay tuned.
All my amazing S.F.A. volunteers with Dr. Christine Butterworth- McDermott, Author, Alice Hoffman, and Author/Faerie Magazine Editor Carolyn Turgeon! Truly, Tiara Wearing and Book Sharing,
Kathy L. Murphy
Founder of The Pulpwood Queens and Timber Guys Reading Nation
www.thepulpwoodqueens.com for Memberships and Pulpwood Queen Packages for Girlfriend Weekend 2019
Email: thepulpwoodqueen@gmail.com
P.S. Our featured Author of the Day is Amy Nathan, check it out and her book below:
ADVANCE PRAISE:
“A heartwarming story about returning to a place the heart has never truly left, Nathan’s novel will appeal to fans of Jennifer Kitses, Frances O’Roark Dowell, and Mary Simses.” –BOOKLIST
“The layered premise, full of grief, memories, and legacy, drives this story, along with the charming suspense of the love square. Interior design and wedding details will please those interested in these subjects.” –LIBRARY JOURNAL
“Beautifully written and true to self, Left to Chance is a lovely novel for readers to embrace.” –RT BOOK REVIEWS
ABOUT THE BOOK:
No one knows why Teddi left her hometown, but everyone knows why she’s back.
Twelve-year-old Shayna— talented, persistent, and adorable—persuaded “Aunt Tee” to return to Chance, Ohio, to photograph her father’s wedding. Even though it’s been six years since Shay’s mother, Celia, died, Teddi can hardly bear the thought of her best friend’s husband marrying someone else. But Teddi’s bond with Shay is stronger than the hurt.
Teddi knows it’s time to face the consequences of her hasty retreat from family, friends, and, her old flame, but when she looks through her viewfinder, nothing in her small town looks the same. That’s when she truly sees the hurt she’s caused and—maybe—how to fix it.
After the man she once loved accuses Teddi of forgetting Celia, Teddi finally admits why she ran away, and the guilt she’s carried with her. As Teddi relinquishes the distance that kept her safe, she’ll discover surprising truths about the people she left behind, and herself. And she’ll finally see what she overlooked all along.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
AMY SUE NATHAN is the author of three novels and the founder of WomensFictionWriters.com, named a Best Website for Writers by Writer’s Digest. Amy lives in Philadelphia and has a grown son and daughter. You can find her online, often when she shouldn’t be. Visit AmySueNathan.com.
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